Battle of Wyoming

The Battle of Wyoming (3 July 1778), also known as the Wyoming Massacre, occurred when 1,000 Loyalists and Seneca Indians attacked the settlements of the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania, taking 227 scalps. It was one of the most infamous Indian raids of the American Revolutionary War.

The entry of France into the war on the American side led to Great Britain fearing a French reconquest of Canada. The British adopted a defensive strategy in Quebec, and they recruited Loyalists and enlisted Indian allies to conduct a frontier war along the northern and western borders of the Thirteen Colonies. John Butler recruited a regiment of Loyalists, while Seneca chiefs Sayenqueraghta and Cornplanter recruited primarily Seneca warriors, and Joseph Brant recruited Mohawk warriors. As Brant targeted settlements in New York and the northern frontier, Butler and the Seneca decided to attack the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania.

The British secured the surrender of Fort Wintermute, but they grew concerned about the gathering of militia outside of Forty Fort. The British burned Wintermute to the ground, and the colonists, thinking that the British were retreating, advanced. Butler set a trap for the Americans, having the Seneca lie flay on the ground as the Americans attacked the numerically inferior British rangers. The Americans advanced to within a hundred yards of the regulars and fired three volleys, but the Seneca rose to their feet, fired one time, and charged the militia to engage in hand-to-hand combat. In 45 minutes, the inexperienced militiamen were massacred, and only 60 Patriots escaped. Only 5 prisoners were taken alive, and the Indians collected 227 scalps.

In the aftermath of the battle, public outrage in America led to Colonel Thomas Hartley and 130 troops ascending the east branch of the Susquehanna River and destroying Indian villages as far as Tioga, recovering a large amount of plunder taken during the raid.